


Glass Half Empty

by chickenrun



Category: The Glass Scientists (Webcomic)
Genre: Alcohol, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:13:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26428423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chickenrun/pseuds/chickenrun
Summary: hyde is in love with lanyon and he would rather die than admit it, so he sleeps with lanyon to make relationship troubles for him and jekyll. alternative title: Hyde Causes Problems And Issues
Relationships: Dr. Henry Jekyll/Dr. Robert Lanyon, Edward Hyde/Dr. Robert Lanyon
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	Glass Half Empty

**Author's Note:**

> the porn is next chapter so if you're just here for that you gotta wait for me to update sorry <3

“Oh, hello. I’m sorry, I assumed Dr. Jekyll was in. Do you know where he would be, Mr…?” Lanyon took a tentative step into the office, looking at the blonde man in Jekyll’s seat.

Hyde looked up. “Hyde, Edward. I’m Dr. Jekyll’s assistant. I assume you’re Dr. Lanyon?” He stood up and walked to meet him, offering a hand to shake with a vaguely malicious grin.

 _Why are you being so polite? You hate him, is this a setup for something?_ Jekyll asked, to which Hyde did not react.

“Oh! Mr. Hyde! My goodness, I’m terribly sorry, I’ve heard of you but I’m afraid I didn’t know your description well enough to recognize you.” He said, shaking his hand. “It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance. Do you know where Jekyll might be?”

“I convinced him to head home and sleep, for once. I’m afraid he won’t be back until tomorrow morning. I’m sure I could help you with whatever you need, though. What did you want him for?” Hyde asked, his grin only splitting wider.

Lanyon averted his gaze. “Ah, I was, ah, looking for him for personal reasons. I’ll be going, then.” He started out the door, but Hyde stopped him in his tracks.

“Nonsense! If you’re looking for company, I would be happy to provide it! Would you allow me to take you out for drinks, my dear doctor?” Edward’s eyes lit up and Jekyll’s heart started to race.

 _Seriously, what are you doing? You have the whole night, you want to spend it with Lanyon? What are you up to?_ Jekyll demanded to know.

Lanyon paused. Through Hyde’s eyes, Jekyll watched him. He looked off somehow, his brows furrowed in confusion but his cheeks were lightly dusted pink. “I… I suppose it couldn’t hurt. I should get to know you, after all. Being a close friend of Henry’s, and all.”

“Closer than friends, Robert.” Hyde could barely contain his excitement. “Come along, I’ll take you to my favorite tavern. You’ll hate it, I’m sure.” He linked arms with Lanyon then, pulling him out of the office and down the stairs.

“I’m sorry, what was that, Mr. Hyde?” Lanyon asked, the insinuation coiling itself in his stomach. What did he mean by that? Surely, Henry wasn’t sleeping with him. Right?

“Nothing. Come along, we can get there in five minutes if we walk fast.” Hyde insisted.

The tavern was certainly not Robert’s preferred type of establishment. Several people greeted Hyde by name when they entered, including the bartender. Hyde ordered an absinthe for himself and Lanyon.

“This is green.” Lanyon observed, staring at the glass in front of him.

“It’s made from a plant, of course it’s green.” Hyde scoffed, taking a sip of his own.

“Is it safe to drink?” He asked, glancing over at Hyde with a cautious eye.

“Of course, they wouldn’t serve it if it wasn’t safe. Now then, drink up and tell me what you’re so troubled over.” Hyde insisted, his grin wide and his eyes bright.

Lanyon took a sip. It was one of the most awful things he’d ever tasted. He started coughing and sputtering, to which Hyde laughed and patted his back.

“You get used to it.” Hyde commented. “Bartender, could you get him a red wine instead?” The man in question nodded and a few moments later, a glass was placed before Lanyon. Hyde took the absinthe away, downing it in one go. “There, now you have your posh drink, why don’t we talk?”

Lanyon was a bit horrified by how easily Hyde drank that awful alcohol, but he quickly fixed his expression. “Talk? About what, exactly?” He asked, sipping the wine. He cringed. It was certainly not the calibre of the wine he usually drank. It made sense, given the pub’s location and customers, though.

“Something is bothering you. That’s why you wanted to speak with Dr. Jekyll, is it not?”

Lanyon considered it. “Surely I shouldn’t bother you with my personal affairs, Mr. Hyde. I can’t imagine it would be appropriate, as we’ve only just met.”

“Just Hyde is fine, Dr. Lanyon. It’s my own mistake that we are yet to have met, after all, you have been very close friends with my Jekyll for years now. It’s a crime I’m not a friend of yours as well!” Edward insisted, polishing off the other glass of absinthe.

His Jekyll? Had he heard that correctly? What exactly was Henry’s relationship with this man? “I… suppose. I would feel bad to just dump all my problems on you, though.”

“Oh, please. Look, how about this? I’ll go first. Would you care to hear wha’s been bothering me?” Hyde asked, barely holding the slur from his words.

Lanyon took a sip. “Sure, that seems like a fair deal.”

“Okay, so get this. Jekyll ‘ires me two years ago, says he needs help runnin’ the society. Mind you, I was just about to finish my doctorate, but I was out of money. So ‘e hires me, I start makin’ a little money, then boom! I break my fuckin’ ankle.” Hyde ranted, tapping the counter to order another drink.

 _You’re lying to him. You’re just lying to him. What are you doing, Hyde?_ Jekyll hissed in his ear, his frustration on the rise.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry to hear that. How did it happen?” Lanyon asked, finishing off his glass of wine and tapping the counter as well.

“Fell off a roof. Unfortunate mistake, really. But the medical expenses made it so I couldn’t afford to continue my education. So ‘ere I am. Workin’ my ass off to pick up Jekyll’s loose ends with nothin’ to show for it.” He sighed.

Lanyon stared at him and took a sip of his new glass of wine. “You… fell off a roof? Were you tiling it?”

“Nope. I jus’ like it up there.” Hyde said, offering a lopsided grin.

At that, a smile tugged at Lanyon’s lips too. “It’s fascinating, you are somehow… everything Henry is not. How on earth do you two get along?”

“He’s very good at pretendin’ to like people, and I tend to be fairly oblivious.” Hyde laughed a little and sipped his own drink. “But that’s not what we’re talkin’ about. I wanna hear about your problems.”

Lanyon’s smile faltered and he sighed. “I suppose it’s only fair. It’s just trouble with my father. He believes the exhibition won’t get us the money we need, and he’s refusing to help us any more than he already has. And as he explains this, he insults my intelligence and whatnot all the while.” He punctuated his words by finishing his glass and ordering another.

Hyde found himself staring. He hated the man, of course he did, because he was everything Lanyon hated. But nonetheless, he found himself staring. The way Lanyon spoke and moved was mesmerizing to him, it always was. As this train of thought passed his mind, he quickly shook his head and down the rest of his drink. “Horrible. Ugh. I mean, that sounds ‘orrible.” He slurred, averting his eyes from Lanyon.

They fell into a small silence as they both nursed their drinks, not looking at one another for more than a glance.

“I am sorry your father treats you that way”, Hyde muttered.

Lanyon looked to him then. Hyde was slouched over his glass, his previous almost malicious looking grin gone from his face. “Thank you, Hyde. I am sorry your efforts aren’t recognised.”

Another silence followed that, until Hyde finished his drink and stood up. “Well! This’s been nice. May I walk you ‘ome?” He asked, stumbling a bit before he caught himself on the counter.

Robert hummed a laugh at that, his cheeks a daring shade of red. “It seems you may be the one who needs walking home, Mr. Hyde. I won’t object, though.”

They talked as they walked, sharing old stories of Jekyll and other aspects of their life. At one point, Hyde stumbled, and Lanyon caught him by the arm. After that, they walked arm in arm. For safety precautions, they both told themselves.

At the door, Hyde paused and looked at Lanyon. Lanyon observed Hyde’s face. Sharp green eyes that had dulled with the alcohol, a red flush painting his cheeks, and a familiar hooked nose all tugged at his heart. Maybe it was the alcohol, but somehow he reminded him of Jekyll.

“You know, I have a much nicer wine than what that tavern had inside. Would you care to join me in continuing the night?”

Hyde’s cheeks flushed an even deeper red against his own wishes and he nodded, following Lanyon inside.

“I thought you lived with your father?” Hyde asked, trying to keep the slur out of his words.

“My father lives in our estate. This is my personal apartment. Red or white?” He asked, gesturing for Hyde to sit on the couch.

“Red”, Hyde said, looking around at the decor of the apartment.

“Here. I’m sure this tastes better than absinthe, too.” Lanyon set down a glass of red wine in front of Hyde. “Why on earth do you drink that swill? If you don’t mind my asking.” He said, sitting beside Hyde on the couch and sipping his own wine.

“Gets the job done faster ‘an anythin’ I’ve tried.” He shrugged, sipping the wine. “I can’t even taste this”, he frowned.

Lanyon laughed a little. “Are you sure that’s healthy?” He asked, letting himself relax against the couch and watch Hyde as he spoke. He was clearly faking an accent, but Lanyon couldn’t tell where he was originally from. It almost sounded Glaswegian, like Jekyll, but he assured himself that couldn’t be correct.

Hyde barked a laugh at that. “Healthy is f’r rich people. I don’t ‘ave enough money to be worried about healthy.”

Robert laughed too, finishing his own glass of wine and feeling his head decisively make the shift from tipsy to drunk. “Does Henry not pay you enough? I’ll talk to ‘im, have him raise your salary.”

“You don’ ‘ave to do that, Lanyon. ‘M fine, really.” Hyde offered a lopsided grin to the other man.

Lanyon found himself staring again. It was striking how similar Hyde looked to Jekyll, really. Same nose, vaguely similar facial structure… a thought occurred to him then. “Oh! When you said closer ‘an friends, you meant brothers?”

Hyde looked at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. “Brothers?! Ew, no! I was implying I’ve seen ‘im naked, I thought you got that!”

Lanyon paled and turned his gaze. He shouldn’t have been surprised, right? Him and Henry had never once said what they had was closed to the outside world. But he would have thought… Henry would at least have told him about it. It was unreasonable, he knew that, but he felt jealous.

Then, all of a sudden, Hyde’s face was inches from his own. “D’you wanna get back at ‘im?” Hyde asked, his eyes wild and his grin stained red with wine.

_Hyde, stop._

Those words flared his jealousy, his betrayal, and in his drunken haze, he grabbed Hyde’s collar and pulled him into a kiss.


End file.
